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11/22/2010 Transplant plus 4 yrs plus 77 days!

We are home from what is Bonnie's third trip to Boston docz since Aug 31 (Transplant anniversary). This week we are celebrating our 22 anniversary. Both of us are busy on the book and with grandparenting.
Bonnie's left eye continues to heal the "defects" that probably resulted in an attack of graft-vs-host disease this summer. Her Boston surgeon put a piece a placenta on the cornea and stitched it shut the first week of Sept and again in October. Most of the October stitches have come off, but Bonnie is keeping it well gooped and taped shut in an effort to give it a couple of other weeks of rest to secure the healing.
Daniel is the sick one these days with terrible hip pain and now a very bad case of the crud.
And still we are happy and doing well. We had a wonderful time with the kiddos at Halloween. Bonnie made Halloween coloring books from their own past Halloween pictures (at Crayola.com). They all came to hear Bonnie preach on the 21st; they are getting more and more accustomed to being in church and liking it more. We will be celebrating Thanksgiving at Jen's house with them and the other four grandparents.
We loved seeing grandson Jackson and his mom, Dr. Deb in Boston. Jackson is quite the kindergartener and athlete these days. He's quite into playing chess.
The book writing is squeezed in between doc and kiddo visits and church activities.
We enjoy beautiful sunsets over the ocean every night.

May 21, 2009

MRSA, Hit from Behind, Cataract Surgery ??

To qualify for eye surgery, Bonnie had to de-colonize her body of it’s MRSA infection. Bonnie followed a 10 day regimen of shampoo and body wash with chlorhexadine, and an antibiotic applied to her nostrils. Hurray, Bonnie tested negative on the first of 2 post-decolonization tests. She still has to test negatively on a second test.

Last week, Bonnie was at the Contagious Diseases Doctor’s office. I set out to get her lunch. As I turned into the parking lot of the sandwich shop near the hospital, I was smacked from behind by a pickup truck. The pickup truck’s bumper caved-in dead center, and it's radiator burst. The right corner of rear bumper on the Honda Odyssey did it’s "compress and recoil" trick. My neck did it’s snap forward and snap back trick. Fortunately my head rest restrained my heads backward motion.

Bonnie had to wait at the Doctor’s office while I waited for the police to write up the accident report.

I had an excruciating headache, for three days. The pain from the whiplash was undiminished by 6 Extra Strength Tylenol taken over two hours, followed by 3 Extra Strength Advil and ice placed at the base of my skull. I had to get up and walk around. I could not lie down. I rested my head on a window sill. Finally I gave in and took an Oxycontin, and an hour or so later was able to go to sleep. The following day, I went through the same routine, except the first Oxycontin did not work after an hour, so I gave in and took a second one, finally I sunk under the pain into sleep.

Still my first priority was to get Bonnie’s test results for her surgery. I had to suck it up and drive to doctors appointments in Wilmington, a 5 hour expedition.

First we picked up the CD of Bonnie’s most recent MRI of her skull (which showed a sinus infection just below her right eye socket). Bonnie’s new Endodontist read the MRI and an Xray of her #3 tooth. He did tap tests and cold tests on her teeth and discovered that Bonnie has a dead nerve in the root of her tooth that is most likely the source of her continuing sinus infections for the last 24 months. Martha Stewart would say “it is not a good thing” to have an infection so close to one’s eye and brain, especially in an immune compromised person.

To date, our doctors have dealt with Bonnie’s repeated sinus infections with antibiotics. Only now are we tracing it to it’s source. Fortunately, Bonnie’s sinus infection is not going to prevent her cataract surgery. We are on for a root canal next week. Or as Bonnie’s says, “just the discomforts of the living”.

Two days ago, Bonnie called to get the results of her second MRSA test, which were five days overdue, only to be told that she had tested POSITIVE for MRSA in her second test. Arggggggghhhhhh. Do we have to again put off her cataract surgery??

Apparently, this positive MRSA test result did not bar Bonnie from today’s cataract surgery.

As I type, Bonnie is in the operating room to have the cataract in her
right eye removed and a sparkling clear plastic lens inserted. She may
be able to read for the first time in months, in a couple of hours.
God willing and the Creek don’t rise.

Okay, Bonnie just called me in after her cataract surgery.

Bonnie has a metal patch over her eye with holes perforated in it and she says, “Wow, I can see colors. I can read that “Purell disinfectant dispenser” behind you. I had no idea I that I was living in a world without color. Let’s go get Mexican food for lunch.”

Sight. We shall see how much sight she regains in the next few days as the drops dilating her pupil subside. Praise be.

Comments

Praise be! I am sure that I told you both that I had the cataract my my left eye replaced exactly one month ago today that results are nothing short of miracle, thought there were no visiting angels, at least that I could discern. I report that my left eye, always lazy and and blurry, went from 22/90 to 20/25 with no correction of the astigmatism. I see dept where none had been before, The colors are brighter. The kicker is the corrective lens now just makes vision worse, tough I still need them to read and work on the computer.

Today, the final final proof, with 204 corrections, went to the publisher. Date? about 6 weeks to a month before it hits the internet shelves. I am already gearing up for a pre-publication push. I have a website,http://sites.google.com/site/intimatemeanderings/
but I have not been able to link to paypal so that people can really buy it online. That did seem to come after all the "t"'s were crossed, the "i"'s dotted.

I will pray that the eyes do not become infected. Those little eye drop bottles are easy to lose. I managed to to that but will save that saga for another day. You are definitely more practiced at managing medications than I am, but I have to give myself very high marks: the HIV is virtually inactive in my system and that is of course due to the generation of anti-viral drugs that is available for me. I count that as a real blessing indeed.

Blessings to you both, and the neck, Daniel, oh ouch! Take care of Daniel too,